How does the NPC hear from its deputies?

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Li Yanping took on her new role as a National People's Congress (NPC) deputy last year.

One of her most important tasks is bringing people's voices from the grassroots level to the very top.

Li Yanping revises her motion at the hotel. /CGTN Photo

She came to Beijing with seven suggestions, including one formal legislative motion.

As a veteran doctor and deputy head of a Chongqing hospital specializing in traditional Chinese medicine, Li's motion is to establish more hospitals like hers, bringing more traditional Chinese medicine to the country's central and western regions.

CGTN's Hou Na interviews Li Yanping. /CGTN Photo

To fulfil her duties, Li not only goes deep into local communities, but also reports regularly to the NPC Standing Committee.

The committee takes charge of affairs during non-Congress periods.

It holds a session every two months, at which its members deliberate laws and determine which ones should be submitted to the full session of the NPC.

The NPC Standing Committee has this mechanism to invite deputies to attend its bimonthly sessions on important law-making processes. Last year, Li attended the hearings for the draft Medical and Health Promotion Law.

The NPC, with about 3,000 deputies elected from across China, is the country's top branch of legislature. It supervises the government and judicial system. Major state issues, like those concerning key reforms, are also determined by the NPC.

The NPC Standing Committee also has the right to inspect whether laws are being effectively implemented, and to make sure all regulations, judicial interpretations and governmental documents abide by the Constitution and existing laws.

As a form of supervision, some ministers or high-level central government officials and judicial system experts are also present at the committee's bimonthly meetings. They take questions from legislators on pressing issues.

Li knows her role as a bridge between China's grassroots citizens and its top policy makers.

She intends to carry that mission all the way through.

(Cover: Li Yanping attends group discussion at the NPC. /CGTN Photo)